


Raising Dead

by UntappedChaos



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Werecreatures, Character Turned Into Vampire, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Werewolf!Kouga, Werewolves, reverse crush, vampire!Kagome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-24
Updated: 2019-04-25
Packaged: 2019-07-01 19:34:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15780666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UntappedChaos/pseuds/UntappedChaos
Summary: No one wants to wake up dressed for a funeral, especially when that funeral is their own.





	1. Baby

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Living](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15727536) by [monophobian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/monophobian/pseuds/monophobian). 



> So monophobian and I may or may not have gotten ahead of ourselves, making a challenge like this. BUT. BUT LISTEN OKAY. I wanted to read more of _Cute_ , and they said if I did a story on the same prompt combination [Reverse Crush + Werewolf!Kouga + Vampire!Kagome] they would match me with new chapters! ;v;
> 
> I couldn't leave that alone. Nope. KogaKags needs more shipping love, and I'm here with oars.
> 
> So here we go with my first vampire fic! //faceplants

The bricks were warm against her cold skin.  It was the middle of the night, the moon was high, and it was late autumn at best, but the bricks were  _ warm _ .

Or rather, she was so cold that the small amount of warmth left in the bricks was almost as good as a jacket.

She didn’t dare be seen by anyone.  Not out here, in the suburbs of Tokyo, wearing a white  _ kosode _ dressed right over left.  If she didn’t feel like she’d be exposing herself to people by redressing outside, she would’ve done it already… but propriety demanded she keep the ensemble together.

Even if she was dressed for death, it wasn’t quite enough to make her undress in public.

“The fuck  _ is _ this, seriously?” Kagome whispered, bundling herself into the corner of an alley.  Her mouth ached. Her stomach turned and growled at the same time. She didn’t care how cold the concrete must be beneath her feet, but in her mind, she could recall the comfort of her mattress at home, of the thick duvet filled to capacity with feathers, of a cup of hot, green tea and her mother’s  _ sasamochi _ .  What she wouldn’t give for all of that just right then, but there was no way she could go home.  

Not when she was supposed to be dead; not when she was supposed to have been cremated already, as evidenced by the room they’d had her laid in, and the box that had loosely held her in place.

Dear gods above, what would’ve happened if she hadn’t woken up?

Crouching and curling around her knees, Kagome tried to remember.  She could recall the hospital. Her mother, brother, and grandfather looking at her with worried faces, a doctor with calculating, black eyes that seemed misplaced on his face.  She remembered screaming machines, the world fading to black.

That was all.

Kagome’s memories skipped a blank that felt ages long before appearing in the crematorium, and then her desperate escape.  If she was at the crematorium, that meant her family had already mourned over her body for days. They’d seen her in a coffin, laid flowers on her, kept vigil for her.  She was no expert on funerals, but days of an open casket meant  _ everyone _ knew she was dead.

Though apparently, rumors of her death were greatly exaggerated.  Otherwise, what would she be doing out here?

The sound of cautious footsteps reverberated in her ears, and the shock was almost palpable as the person came to a stop over her.  She froze; it had to be the wee hours of the morning yet, so how was someone awake to find her here? A drunk? A criminal? Dread settled on her heavily, and Kagome didn’t dare raise her head.  The feet left in a hurry.

Just as she was breathing a sigh of relief,  _ more _ feet came.  She tried to sink into the corner even further, but there was heavy breathing over her and she could  _ feel _ it when one of them knelt over her, and she just wanted to  _ run _ —

“Hey, what’s a baby like you doing out this late at night?  The sun’ll be comin’ up soon.”

_ He has a nice voice _ , came the thought.  Kagome hesitated, but eventually raised her head to face him — and met a pair of eyes that were a deep, mesmerizing blue.  An unreasonably unfathomable blue. She hadn’t understood what poets were going on about when they declared themselves breathless at one beauty or another, but now she did.  Air escaped her lungs, leaving her unable to answer.

He looked worried.  He  _ sounded _ worried.  The man tried again, “You’re not safe here.  Where’s your sire?”

With a nervous swallow, she shook her head.  Words. Words would be good about now. “I don’t- I mean, what…?”

Still distracted by his eyes, it was impossible to miss the moment dark pupils narrowed to thin slits.

“...  Your sire.  Who created you?” he asked, voice strained.  His nerves were getting to her, pulling her out of ocean eyes and bringing her back to overwhelming reality — cold concrete, fast-approaching dawn, and a kimono for burial.  Kagome licked her lips, gaze falling to her knees.

“I’m… not sure what you mean.”

She didn’t know the man, but he sounded furious when he spoke again.  “Who the  _ hell _ would leave you on your own at a time like this?”  There wasn’t time to formulate a response before he tossed his jacket over her head, the smell of pine and leather and  _ male _ encasing her as he barked out orders.  “Ginta, call that damn monk and tell him to get his girl to raid the blood bank.  It’s better than nothing. Hakkaku, get the boys organized. We’ve got to find her sire.  This bullshit cannot happen again. Ginta, after you call Miroku, get Ayame on the line and tell her to haul some of her old things to my apartment.  I know she’s probably still pissed at me, but we can’t have this one running around in funeral shit.”

Kagome was forcibly jostled to her feet, an arm around her shoulders, her toes tripping and scraping against the ground as he dragged her along.  By the end of the alley, when the sounds of the echoes around her changed, the man hauled her into his arms. More jackets were piled on her torso and legs.   They also smelled of pine and leather, and different notes of spicy masculinity. Confused and on the verge of flailing for her balance, the gruff voice of the man carrying her rumbled by her ear, “Don’t move too much.  We’ll get you somewhere safe, so just behave.”

“What the- no seriously, where are you taking me?” she started, finally coming back to herself now that distracting eyes weren’t being so distracting.  His chest vibrated in a rumble she didn’t know what to do with.

“If I knew who was responsible for this, I’d take you there.  And then knock their fucking teeth out,” he growled. “Since I don’t know, I’m taking you to our enclave.  It’s better than nothing; there are rooms safe for babes like you, so at least you won’t—”

“Would you stop calling me a baby?  I’m a grown woman.”

“You’re a fucking  _ baby _ who hasn’t even had her first blood yet.”

“If that’s a comment about my fertility I  _ swear to god _ —”

“HELL NO.”  His hands gripped until it hurt a little, but she tried to move as little as possible.  The warmth was glorious. She wasn’t really mad. Half of it was teasing, the other half unbearable indignity of being treated like a child by someone so attractive.  “I’m saying what kind of sire leaves their child alone without even telling them what’s happened? Did they say anything to you at all?”

Kagome didn’t reply.  She pursed her lips and went over her memories again, skimming them.  Mama, Grandfather, Souta, the doctor; the hospital and its impeccably sterile crematorium.  Waking up in a flimsy box for burning. The scream of machines in her ears was headache-inducing even when she just imagined it.  The hallways were dark and empty when she fled, eschewing the idea of stealing a forgotten jacket to cover her burial garb. The smell of death and bleach and alcohol was everywhere.  Blood and decay. It made more of an impression now than it had then, her mind calm enough to organize what her senses had stored away for her.

“Hey,” he prompted gruffly, “ _ Did they _ ?”

Beneath the jacket, Kagome shook her head.  “No one was there but me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vocabulary and Culture Notes!
> 
>  _Kosode_ — a standard kimono with short sleeves.
> 
>  _Right over left_ — When dressing kimono, always dress left over right! Dressing right over left is only done for the dead.  <3
> 
>  _Sasamochi_ — mochi (rice cakes) wrapped in bamboo leaves. If you're a fan of _Kamisama Hajimemashita_ you probably recognize it.  <3


	2. The Enclave

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm behind in updating this is monophobian the fabulous has finally updated "Cute", but here it is! TTvTT It's been hectic here guys, I'm sorry. ;-;
> 
> I'm trying to keep a balance with humor in this story, I admit it... so tell me how I'm doing. <3

When the man deposited her on a sofa some thirty minutes later, Kagome knew she was somewhere louder than outside, and while enclosed, the area was absolutely enormous.  The smell of leather and fur didn’t abate, but it was padded out with the smells of food and drink. After a few minutes, the jacket was pulled off her head, and she was faced with a large warehouse… or something like it.

Bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling by the dozens cast the whole building in a dim, golden light.  Exposed brick and corrugated metal tastefully decorated the walls. Concrete floors were painted with epic adventures and deep, red runes like an immortal tapestry.  Rich, red upholstery covered a variety of lounges and chairs, and fur throws in grizzled grays, browns, and silvers were strewn across anywhere it seemed likely for someone to sit.

“Welcome to the Enclave.”

Kagome turned to look at her host, now perched on a tall, wingback chair.  He was examining her in a very disconcerting way when the sharp, quick footsteps of another drew her attention.

Before she could catch a glimpse though, a mound of cloth hit her square in the face.

“Kouga.  I swear, you say you reject me for no damn reason, but then call beggaring my clothes for  _ this _ ?”

Kagome took issue with being called ‘ _ this _ .’  

At least she now had a name.  ‘Kouga’ was grimacing when she finally managed to pull through the pile of clothing articles.

“She’s a baby, Ayame.  Even  _ you _ wouldn’t leave her there like that.”  The female turned and looked at her for real this time, eying the white kosode with distaste.  “See?”

“Fine.  I understand.  What are you going to do about it?  It can’t stay here.”

Kagome took issue with being called ‘ _ it _ ,’ too.  With a snarl, she stood from her seat and sent the offerings tumbling to the floor.  “Is it too much for anyone’s manners around here to ask my  _ name _ ?  Instead of calling me  _ baby _ and   _ child _ and  _ it _ , for gods’ sakes, just ask my name!”

Ayame eyed her warily, and a little sulkily, before deeming to say, “Fine.  Tell us.”

“ _ Ask _ .  You’re a grown woman, surely you’ve got some manners somewhere,” Kagome snapped.  She heard a suspicious snicker from Kouga’s direction. “I’ve heard your name already,  _ Ayame-san _ , so no need to introduce yourself first.”

Ayame put the livid in lividity; red from ears to neck, green eyes narrowing in indignation, she growled, “Have some yourself,  _ brat _ .  You don’t belong here, so don’t make out like you do!”

“I don’t care whether I belong or not.  It doesn’t stop you from being civil,” Kagome snipped.  “I’d as soon stay in funeral garb as use clothes from a- a—”

“You can call her a bitch, little one.  She can’t deny it.” Kouga smirked and stood, scooping the clothes up from the floor, depositing them in her arms.  “But to make up for her bad manners, I’ll ask you. What’s your name?”

Kagome pouted down at the clothes.  They were  _ nice _ clothes.  They were brands she’d never been able to afford in all her life, and looked barely worn.  She glanced up at Kouga, and with a sigh, said, “Higurashi Kagome. My family owns the Higurashi Shrine in Shizuoka.”

The red-head hissed.  “You brought an  _ exorcist _ here?!”

Kouga seemed to give her a cautious sniff.  Kagome wanted to pinch his nose, because  _ don’t sniff me, even  _ **_I_ ** _ don’t know when the last time I had a bath was _ , but she tamped down the fidgets as he made a face and said, “She’s got power — don’t know how it stood the change — but I don’t think she’s trained.”

Feeling like the man was on her side — more than anyone else at the moment, anyway — Kagome finally felt relaxed enough to ask.  “So… okay, exorcist or priestess whatever aside… what do you mean by change? And earlier you were asking about a sire…?”

It felt like the whole room went silent.  Dozens of eyes stared at her, Kouga and Ayame not excluded.

“You… you’re serious?”

Kagome didn’t like the note of disbelief there, so she braced for the worst.  “I woke up alone in a crematorium just hours from being turned to ash. What am I missing?”

The clamor that overtook the room was impressive.  She heard sharp yips like dogs getting their tails stepped on, several swears of varying strength, at least one “DEAR MARY MOTHER OF GOD” and several calls for the blood of the idiot that did this.  Ayame stood aghast, so horrified her lips curled back to reveal unexpectedly sharp canines. It was the first clue that registered.

They had fangs.

With a hard swallow, Kagome turned to Kouga just as he leaned over to look her in the eye, taking her by the shoulders.  He made a few false starts, and finally croaked a dry, “I don’t have any experience with this. We can’t make new ones like they can, so I’m sorry.  You’re- damn, I’m sorry.”

Kagome felt her heartbeat speed up.  What clues did she miss? Kouga pulled on her gently until she sat down on the couch again, those mesmerizing eyes still locked on to hers as he knelt, begging her to understand.  Just as he opened his mouth, another clatter loud enough to wake the dead rattled through the building, followed by a sing-song voice Kagome knew all-too-well.

“Miroku the traveling priest, at your service!  Now, where’s this baby vampire I’ve heard about?”

_ Baby vampire _ .

Looking the monk in the eye, Kagome declared, “Miroku-sama, that joke is in bad taste.”

He froze, smile disappearing in an instant.  Plastic bags bulged around red things she didn’t want to know what were.  Behind him, a man with a silvery mohawk trailed in with a nervous smile and a  _ tail _ tucked between his legs.

It seemed as if the haze of fear and worry that had clouded her mind the last several hours was gone at last.  As Hakkaku closed the door behind him, Kagome felt a great lot of rage building up in her chest and, cooling it to Arctic temperatures, she leveled the man a fearsome look.

“Am I a vampire?”  Despite several yards of distance, she could distinctly see the nervous gulp that bobbed his Adam’s apple.  “Miroku-sama. That was  _ not _ a rhetorical question.   _ Am I a vampire _ ?”

Trying for a lighter tone despite his brows scrunched with worry, he said, “Just a baby one.”

Kouga’s head dropped to her lap, and she heard a grumble resembling, “Not the way I thought that’d go…”


	3. Reasons

After several frozen minutes, Miroku set the plastic sacks on the coffee table in front of her.  They were filled with blood bags, marked ‘clean’ and with signs of his girlfriend’s father’s blood bank on the front.

“Does Sango-chan steal blood for you often?” she asked dryly.  Miroku winced, but still offered a stilted smile. 

“Only in cases like these, Kagome-sama.”

“Explain.”

He settled on the couch by her, and Kagome latched on to Kouga’s hands when he went to remove them.  They felt like summer, toasty warm against her frigid skin, and they damn well weren’t going anywhere while she had to listen to this.  Miroku tugged at his ponytail, his old nervous tell, before settling back against the couch and starting.

“What do you know?”

“That I woke up before being burned to death.  Quit stalling.” She actually pitied him a little, his face going from pale to pasty white when she snapped.  With a deep breath, he continued.

“About two weeks ago, you were on a train on the Chuo Line.  Someone parked a vehicle on the tracks, and the train couldn’t stop in time,” he started.  Kagome nodded, brows still knit together. He sighed and continued. “You were in one of the forward cars.  Pretty much everyone from the first three cars is dead. You were the only one who made it out of the second car, by some miracle.

“They took you to the nearby hospital.  At first, they couldn’t tell anything. Then it seemed like you were miraculously getting better.  No one had any suggestions why, but you were getting stronger.” He hesitated, swallowing. “Then… then out of the blue, you withered practically overnight.  Less than 24 hours after you started going downhill, you were dead. The doctors didn’t have any explanation for that, either.”

“That was the bite sinking in,” Kouga stated, and Miroku nodded in agreement.

“That’s what makes sense.  The bite kills you quickly, but not right away,” he replied, the facts flowing easily off his tongue.  Kagome couldn’t help but note how used to this he was. “Hakkaku tells me you don’t know your sire. That makes things harder, but not impossible.  We’ll get Inuyasha to talk to the local Coven and see if anyone comes forward. In the meanwhile,” he glanced toward the blood packs on the table, “you really… you really need to eat something.”

She glanced at the blood, swishing in its plastic containers.  Her tongue was twitching, her saliva pooling; some part of her thought it looked delectable, but the rest…  She shook her head. “I don’t think I can stomach that just yet.”

“You’d best stay here.  Sunrise was a few minutes ago, and you’ll burn easily,” he said softly.  Kagome looked down at Kouga then, and he gave her a smile that was only a little strained. 

“Aw, hell.  One vampire in a lunacy of werewolves won’t be a big deal.”

She couldn’t help the quirk of lips that came with that.  “A  _ lunacy _ is it.”

“It is.”

Miroku got her attention by leaning over, and offered a wan smile.  “Kagome-sama, I am very, very glad you are alright. Even if you are a vampire.  Sango has cried for days in her grief.”

“Judging by how red your eyes are, you haven’t been much different,” she offered.  

Neither mentioned Kagome’s family.  No doubt they were even more distraught, even more grieved than her best friend.  There was no way she could reveal this to them though; how could she just waltz up to her  _ family shrine _ and say, “Hi everyone!  I’m not dead, I’m just a vampire now!  Sorry about that expensive funeral. I bet my eulogy was great, lol.”  

No way in hell.

“Will you be alright here?  Kouga-sama is a very important male in Tokyo.  You didn’t even react when he said you would be staying amongst his wolves,” Miroku asked, just a little worried.  Kagome gave a half-laugh, tossing her chin in Hakkaku’s direction.

“How many other mythological creatures could be walking around with tails?”

“Many indeed, though you make your point.”

Kagome stared at the hands she had in a stranglehold on her lap, her smile fading until worry marred her face.  Several moments of silence passed between them. Ayame fussed at a few nearby people before turning and leaving, red tail swishing as she went.  The two dozen men and women milling about thinned as they left in one direction or another. A few blobs that she’d first thought were throw rugs turned out to be actual wolves — which were supposed to be extinct in Japan, but here they were, fat and happy and yawning widely as they got comfortable on various patches of carpet or overstuffed furniture.

“Really, I think I’m in shock,” she said quietly.  Miroku nodded, his eyes resting on the same scene. Kouga was watching her quietly with those still overwhelmingly-blue eyes.  Kagome touched a tongue to one of her canines, ignoring the prick and lack of blood to follow. “I can tell I’m different. The cold doesn’t bother me, and my teeth are sharper, and my senses are better than before.  I can see the tails on these people, and their fangs, and I haven’t missed when their eyes went all cat-slit over one thing or another… but to tell me I’m a vampire?”

“If it helps any, you’re a very pretty vampire,” Kouga quipped.  Kagome startled, looked down at him, and just as she was about to ask what he meant, he said, “Were your eyes always this blue?”

She turned to Miroku with a sick look on her face.  He pulled at his ponytail.


	4. Lunacy

Her eyes  _ were _ blue.

Higurashi Kagome was a pureblood Japanese woman.  She was supposed to have  _ brown _ eyes, but no matter how you sliced it, her eyes were now sky blue, crystal blue, clear-as-a-spring-morn  _ blue _ , with a silver — not grey, mind you, but  _ silver _ — ring around her pupils.

Her hair, at the roots, was turning white.

Miroku had haltingly explained that blue eyes were a rare beauty for a vampire, but all of them had white hair.  It would take some time, but within a few months all the black would grow out and she would have a full head of luxurious white hair, without the slightest shade of yellow.  It would be pristine like fresh banks of snow, like ice-capped mountains, like the puffiest and fluffiest of clouds in mid-summer, and the more Miroku compared to her amazing sights and wonders of the world the less she knew what to do.

She wasn’t human anymore.  She didn’t even look  _ Japanese _ anymore.  So, determining that life was just  _ too fucking much _ at the moment, she locked herself in the proffered bedroom and buried her head in a pillow.

It took an hour for her to realize that not being able to breathe was no problem for an undead critter like herself.  It may or may not have given her pause as she considered whether throwing things at the wall was in order.

She wanted to sleep, but she wasn’t sleepy.  She wanted to go outside, but couldn’t. Damn if she wasn’t going to miss the sun; she’d always been a morning person, up before dawn, watching the sun rise as she swept the shrine steps, walking to school in the quiet of early morning streets until she met up with her friends who were still dragging and yawning.  Now she was a vampire.

No more sunrises.  She doubted even sunsets.

Living life in the black of night, under moonlight and starlight, at the hours when only the crazy and dangerous were about… she wanted to cry, but her eyes weren’t even prickling in preparation for tears.   How many hours would she spend in the dark, unable to go anywhere, hiding from the light that flooded the sky for more than half the day?

A knock came at the door.  It took a moment, but she fought down the roughness in her throat and called, “Come in.”

Blue eyes.  They still caught her attention, even here in the dark.  “Kagome…?” She stared at Kouga blankly as he cautiously poked his head around the door, refraining from intruding too far.  Kagome didn’t have the energy to look confused, but she felt sorry when his eyes seemed to zero in on her face and sadden. “Aw, hell.  You bit yourself.”

There wasn’t any blood to taste, truth be told.  Couldn’t feel the prick of the fang on her lip, though she knew she was chewing it.

“You’re not going to fill your belly that way.  Nutrition doesn’t work like that,” he muttered, almost  _ pouting _ it seemed like.  An  _ alpha werewolf _ in modern Tokyo was scolding her, a new-turned vampire, about nutrition of all things.

She actually managed to crack a smile at that.

“I know.  Still not hungry.”  His great, scowly brows knit in the middle, darkening those ridiculously blue eyes.  He may be brooding, and she may be depressed, but Kagome was still appreciating the view.  She reached a hand out toward him, and he took the hint; Kouga crept into the room in a placating crouch, tail swinging in a half-hearted arc as he took her hand. She quietly confessed as he inched closer, “I don’t want to be hungry ever again.  I don’t want to eat. I feel like a cannibal even without it.”

He didn’t seem to have words for that.

Instead, his head settled on the bed just a hand’s width from her face, tail giving a muffled  _ thump-thump _ in encouragement as he silently waited and listened.  He held the hand she’d offered, tucking it between them on the bed.

He was close enough to share a secret, so Kagome whispered, “I wish I were a werewolf instead.”

Kouga offered a wan smile.  “If I’d been there, I might have.  Turned you, that is. If you said yes.”

“I would have,” she whispered.  “I really would have, if it was you who was asking.”

His eyes widened.  If her heart still worked, she thought it might’ve skipped a beat.  Kagome couldn’t really feel the symptoms of nerves now, though; her emotions seemed to be dulling, her thoughts growing sluggish.  The adrenaline, the cortisol, all those ugly little hormones that had been on full-throttle through the night seemed strangely absent.  In the warm glow of a single lamp, Kagome noticed her vision fading strangely.

Kouga noticed too.  His grip tightened.

“Give me permission to save you.  Join the Enclave, become a vampire amongst a lunacy.  Swear to me that you will accept my rule and my protection,” he rasped, suddenly urgent.

“I don’t—”

“Kagome.  Swear to me.”

The demand was so strange.  Usually, wouldn’t someone do this of their own free will?  Wouldn’t he just go ahead and save her and protect her, or wouldn’t she just ask to join his Enclave?  Her logic fuzzed out, popping like soda bubbles under the effort of her consideration. Kouga jostled her hand again, demanding her answer.

“ _ Kagome _ .”

So before her vision completely left, before all her energy drained, she whispered, “If that’s what you need.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Excuse me while I dangle bait for monophobian. They've posted a lot of new stuff, but I haven't seen an update for _Living_ yet. ;P
> 
> Guys, I got really into writing this story. The chapters started stretching out of nowhere, and now I'm almost done with chapter 10, and it's already on the 3rd page with at least a page or two to go... And here I wanted it to be a simple story. TTvTT
> 
> Yay for getting slapt with inspiration?


	5. Permission

It wasn’t about  _ his _ needs.  It was about  _ her _ needs.

Kouga growled as he punctured the blood bag, tilting her head carefully.  The deep, viscous red drained into her mouth carefully, carefully, just a little at a time.  Her throat bobbed, body reacting, accepting, drinking its necessary fill where her mind had balked.

He could only protect her with permission.  If she was one of  _ his _ , a member of the Enclave, she was bound to follow his lead as alpha.  He could demand she feed herself, or do so forcibly. It was his job as the leader, making sure all were well.  The wolf found himself rumbling, vibrations echoing from deep in his chest as he struggled with her plight.

Becoming a werewolf hadn’t changed him.  He’d been a half-Jap from the start, his dad a foreigner visiting Dejima that didn’t stick around; his eyes were from  _ that man _ , however much he hated it.  His appearance had always been his, but Kagome didn’t have that luxury.  He could still walk in daylight, work, have friends… but she didn’t have those luxuries, either.

When Ayame accidentally turned him, her parents had taken him into their Enclave with much love and welcome… but Kagome didn’t even know her sire, and was left to die before she realized what was happening.  She was young… so painfully  _ young _ next to his centuries, but her life had been reset to the beginning.  The social norms, what she ate, what she wore, who she associated with, even the human’s skewed views of right and wrong were all going to be torn down, and over the ruins, she would have to cobble together something new.  It would never look right; like fitting a hobbit hole with doors of stone and iron, her life would never fit together the same way again.

Once the pack was drained to the bottom, Kouga settled Kagome back into the bed — his bed, he’d conveniently not mentioned, because a spare room wasn’t kept at the ready.  The smell of her grew stones in his gut; youth, death, blood, and tears, edged in the lingering scents of hospital cleaners and ash. She hadn’t asked for this, hadn’t given her permission… sure, it wasn’t unusual for vampires to turn each other at a moment’s notice.  Unlike werewolves, they had to curb their ability to reproduce, and often made split-second, uninformed decisions when they finally decided to turn someone.

Werewolves, sometimes it takes and sometimes it doesn’t.  Vampires? A little too much goes a long way. That’s all Kouga knew, searching his mind for details.  The local Covens were full of enemies, but he had a certain respect for the leader of their Western House.  The guy was an ice block, but he respected the wolves, protected them as he saw necessary. Kouga saw no problems returning the favors.  The Eastern leader… well, he wasn’t to be trusted. That guy had issues. Kouga suspected there would be trouble from that direction soon, but he left those thoughts aside for the time being.

Kagome’s lips twitched, face scrunching.  She looked to be in so much pain; if vampires could cry, it looked like she would… but she couldn’t.

Not anymore.

Kouga turned away to lean back against the mattress.  The Enclave was silent, all good wolves gone to work for the day… but here he sat, listening to the sound of a living corpse not crying in her sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dejima (出島, "exit island") — A Dutch trading post notable for being the single place of direct trade and exchange between Japan and the outside world during the Edo period. Very few anime or manga works make mention of Dejima-tou, but the two that come to mind right away are the anime _Samurai Champloo_ and the manga _Sakoku Renai_ by Duo Brand. Dejima is a man-made island near Nagasaki.


	6. No Sun

In the early stages of twilight, a knock came on the door.  Kagome’s first instinct was to answer, until one of the wolves — Ginta, she thought? — shuffled her into a reading corner behind a few bookshelves.  The door opened, and voices filtered in. Kouga, Hakkaku…

Inuyasha.

She tried to peek around the corner, but Ginta insistently pushed her back.  He murmured pleasantly with a tinge of humor, “Not yet, _neesan_.  Even twilight will burn delicate peepers like yours.”

She knew she was pouting, but as he good-naturedly petted and patted and stroked her hair like a child she let it go.  He and Hakkaku both were too nice to be werewolves, in her humble opinion. Eventually though, the door rattled shut. She could hear Kouga commanding a guard to keep it that way until after sunset.  It prompted a hug Ginta wasn’t expecting. _Damnit.  I want to see the sun._

He let her out of the corner though… just in time to come nose-to-nose with Inuyasha.

“Yo.”  He got a hug too, much to his protest.  Inuyasha would never _return_ a hug, she knew that much, but it made her feel loads better just to see him there.  “Keh, already getting greys at this age, huh? Whose fault is that I wonder.”

“Yours, I assure you,” she returned, but no one was fooled.  Even if she couldn’t cry, there was a waver in her voice.

“Nah, not my fault this time.  I’ll find them though. Knock their teeth in for you.”

She pulled back and looked her friend in the eye.  He always looked grumpy, but rarely so serious as this, black hair pulled back over his shoulder in a loose braid, black eyes with just a hint of violet meeting her gaze evenly.

Kagome offered a weak smile.  “It would figure that if Miroku-sama knows about vampires and werewolves, so would you.”

He smirked.  “I’ve got a better excuse than that shitty monk.”

She was going to ask what he meant, but in the space of a blink — whether she actually blinked or not she wasn’t sure — he changed.  His eye color, his hair color, his…

“You’re a vampire?” she found herself asking at a whisper.

He had the audacity to wrinkle his nose.  “Keh, not quite. I’m a dhampir; half a vampire.  Mom’s a human. You’ve met her, though you thought she was my grandmother.”

Kagome was silent for a long time, taking in the golden eyes that seemed more right on his face than she wanted to admit.  She touched his silver-white hair, amazed at how the texture was the same even when the color wasn’t. The smirk she’d known for half her life held pristine white fangs.  His ears came to delicate points… not quite as delicate as hers, but still elfin-tipped and decidedly inhuman.

“You look good,” he muttered.  “The blue.”

It was one of those rare times he paid her a compliment, but she didn’t really have the heart to enjoy it.  Instead, she buried into his chest even further and muttered, “No fair. You can walk during daylight hours.”

He was quiet for a while.  Then, “No fair. You get your heightened senses all day. And don’t have to hide after dark.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Living_ finally got an update! So I'm here to surprise you with a DOUBLE. (because these chapters are short and I'm very nice.  <3 ) Aah, but we're making progress~! I'm working on chapter 11 now and can't wait to see what all of you think when we start introducing new characters!
> 
> Also due to monophobian's encouragement, I've decided to toss one of my oddest crack pairings in this story just for funsies, so look forward to that. ;P


	7. No Sire

Inuyasha was present for educational purposes, according to Kouga.

“Mutt-face here is going to hand down your Vampire 101 while Ayame parleys with the Western House leader,” he said, ignoring Inuyasha’s growling.  Kouga none-too-subtly pulled Kagome away from her friend with a smile that confessed precious little. He lounged across her shoulders irreverently and shot, “The Enclave has accepted Kagome as a new packmate.  Kagome accepted it last night, so  _ officially _ , the Western House has no claim on her.  Yet.”

An indistinct grump answered.  “Yeah, but that also leaves her open to claims from the Eastern House… and that’s worse.”

“I have to agree with that,” Kouga muttered, and it didn’t take a genius to notice how uneasy he sounded.

“What’s wrong with the Eastern House?” she asked cautiously.  Whether they got along or not, they both grimaced.

“The leader… this new-age vampire, Naraku… he’s just bad news for everyone,” Inuyasha tried, tugging at an ear uncomfortably.  

Kouga nodded once, about as agreeable as they were going to get it seemed.  “If the Covenant didn’t exist, he’d be killing and turning left and right.”

Inuyasha offered an uneasy smile.  “The bastard and his clan turn as many people as the Covenant allows every year… but let’s be honest, if any of  _ them _ were your sire, we wouldn’t be in this situation.  They’re greedy as hell over kids.”

Kagome offered a grimace that could  _ almost _ pass for a smile.  “Lucky me.”

_ Then again _ , she thought, eyes sliding to consider the wolf pressed against her side,  _ maybe I really  _ _ am _ _ lucky.  I don’t know what it would’ve been like, waking up to someone telling me they’d turned me into a vampire, but… _

But instead, she met Kouga.  She met his wolves. She found out that her human friends — or mostly human, in Inuyasha’s case — were still going to be there for her because  _ somehow _ they were part of this world, too.  Considering the few facts she had about the Eastern House, and how terrible it sounded… Kagome thought she couldn’t have done much better.

Inuyasha tweaked his ear again, and muttered, “ ’nough about that.  Let’s get started.”

She followed him closer to the sprawling lounge area that took up most of the warehouse’s main floor, plopping onto a couch and folding her legs up on the cushion comfortably.  Inuyasha took a seat on a rounded, overstuffed chair across from her, and Kouga, for some reason, parked himself on the floor between them.

“We’ll start with the rules,” he said.  “I’ve only turned one person, but even a toddler should be able to give this lecture, so  _ remember everything _ .”

She nodded silently.

“Rule one.  Stay out of the sun.  All of it. Not even early dawn or late twilight is all that safe, but direct sunlight is a  _ no _ .”  She rolled her eyes.  Gee, if that hadn’t been obvious enough already.  “Rule two. Sires are responsible for all their children.  It’s up to the sire to teach them everything, and all rules broken by the child are considered doubly the fault of the sire.  In this case, I’m taking temporary responsibility for you. My older brother, Sesshoumaru… he’s the leader of the Western House.  He knows this, and he’s probably talking with Ayame this second to see about finding your bastard sire.”

“So if I make a mistake…?” she tried weakly.  Inuyasha nodded.

“Normally it would be the responsibility of your sire, but in this case, it’s mine.  They’ll probably have me adopt you on paper at some point. Don’t worry,” he said, with the snarkiest grin she’d seen in a long time, “I won’t make you call me  _ daddy _ .”

The wolves howled.  Kouga was trying not to laugh like the rest, and not being very successful.  Kagome turned red to the ears, to the toes… and then broke out in giggles that felt immeasurably good.  How long had it been since she really laughed?

“You are the most  _ audacious—! _ ”

“You obviously haven’t lived with these wolves long enough if you’re callin’  _ me _ audacious.”  His grin just got wider though, golden eyes sparkling like sunlight on wheat.  “C’mon, we’re not done yet. Rule three.”

She sobered, but the smile pulling at her lips didn’t completely vanish.

“Rule three,” he repeated, “is that a sire is responsible for the feeding and care of their child until they are capable of hunting on their own.”

Kouga held up his hand, “That’s where I come in.”

The thought of  _ feeding _ still turned her stomach, and it faded the rest of her smile away.  Shifting uncomfortably to set her feet back on the floor, Kagome asked, “How do you mean?”

“I’m prey.”  The rapacious smirk said otherwise, and Kagome couldn’t help the fleeting quirk of her lips that returned at the lightness of the statement.  “Mutt-face here is going to teach you how to hunt without turning anyone, and I’m going to be the guinea pig until then.”

“Why?”

Inuyasha smirked.  “Keh. Because one supernatural creature cannot be turned by the power of another.  Werewolves can’t turn us into one of them, we can’t turn them into one of us, a  _ yamanba _ can’t curse us to become a  _ youkai _ .  Our blood’s too stubborn for that.”

That… was a relief, she supposed.  “So I’m…”

Kouga offered her a smile that was so gentle it hurt.  Damn, but she felt bad about this. The sinking feeling of guilt was terrible, but he just looked at her like… like he was saying it was all going to be okay.  “I’m going to feed you, Kagome. I gave you a place in this pack, which means I’m responsible for you. You’ll never go hungry, you’ll never be cold, and you will never be alone, so long as I live.”

There was such a lot, a  _ lot _ , of effort that went into telling herself that didn’t sound like a proposal, didn’t sound like wedding vows, it wasn’t it wasn’t it  _ wasn’t _ .  It still gave her the butterflies, still gave her the good chills, still had her lost in his poetically blue eyes like nothing she’d ever heard before.  It wasn’t a romantic statement, dammit! Fathers were the same way!  _ Fathers _ treated  _ daughters _ the same way, the world over, it didn’t just have significant other connotations, it  _ didn’t _ —!

And the more she tried to tell herself of that, the less and less she was convinced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _Yamanba_ — A youkai from folklore. Depending on which of the many versions you pick, the yamanba generally looks like an old woman living in the mountains with long, unkempt hair that is nearly white, and a dirty, torn kimono. Again, depending on which tales you're looking at, she is either a cannibal or a purveyor of good/bad luck. 
> 
>  
> 
> Updaaaaateeee~!!
> 
> I haven't read monophobian's chapter yet, but they were apparently in a hurry for me to get this new one up. ;P I'm looking forward to the next chapter's change of pace, but I hope you'll enjoy this in the meanwhile~


	8. How to Magic

Ayame had a bad habit of seating herself  _ on _ his desk.  Not on an edge, not in one of the abundance of plush office seating arrangements, not even on the  _ floor _ as her pack was wont to do… but  _ on _ the desk, delicate derriere just where he would normally get work done.

Inuyasha said once that the she-wolf had a distinct hate for people spending their attention otherwhere when she was trying to converse with them.  Each time she committed to this posture — occasionally propping her feet on the armrests of his chair as well — Sesshoumaru found himself acknowledging that statement.

Again, and again, and today  _ again _ .

She smiled a fanged smile most charming, as if there wasn’t a single thing wrong with her interventions.

“Sesshoumaru, my eyes are up here,” she quipped, knowing that the reason he stared at her thighs was because  _ there lies the paperwork, now crinkled beneath your behind _ .  “As we were saying, Kouga and Inuyasha can handle the broad strokes of things like food and common sense, but I wouldn’t trust anyone but you to teach her magic.  She’ll need to know how to erase memories, seal wounds, turn invisible — eyes  _ up here _ , sweetheart — and the Covenant needs to be high on her list too, because the tension between you and the itsy bitsy Eastern Spider have been coming to a whitehead for a while now.  I’d like her to know what’s going on when the pus comes out. EYES, Sesshoumaru.”

One would rarely describe Taishou Sesshoumaru as belligerent, but Ayame would have said exactly that of him when golden eyes sullenly met hers at last.

“She needs you,” she stated.

“I could say the same of you,” he replied just as simply.  Ayame seemed surprised by the prospect. “You were born of wolves, but you are female.  There are few of your gender in the Tokyo Enclave, and male wisdom only carries just so far.”

She grinned rakishly.  “Wiser words were never spoken, I do declare.  What do you want me to do for your new little niece, oh great vampire overlord?”

He sighed.  “Teach her the things she’ll need to preserve her feminine dignity.  I imagine make-up is part of her routine, and doing it without a mirror…”

Sesshoumaru trailed off in the example, but Ayame frowned with understanding.  Makeup needed mirrors, but vampires couldn’t see their reflections. They couldn’t be caught on cameras, either, so learning to avoid stores with obvious surveillance was a must.  Hell, a perv on the train trying to get an upskirt shot wouldn’t get anything but air. Her IDs would need to be replaced to accommodate the passage of time... that was something a skilled artist in the pack would need to take care of.  It would have to be a portrait lifelike enough to fool a person. For creatures so in need of each other, Ayame was always in awe of how solitary they were, but…

Scratching the tip of her nose to hide a pout, she muttered, “We’re pack… even if she  _ is _ getting all moony over my ex.”

Sesshoumaru accepted the statement with a graceful nod of appreciation.  Hesitantly, Ayame bumped her foot against his leg, prodding cautiously. Her reward was his golden gaze, finally meeting hers without hesitation instead of staring at his abused paperwork through her thigh gap.  The stain of red that got to her cheeks was stubborn as she was, but she tempered her voice and asked mutedly, “So… we’ll be seeing you?”

She wanted to complain about the nerve of the bastard, his eyes glittering in rare, mute amusement as he responded deftly, “Would that please you?”

He knew,  _ knew _ , her pride wouldn’t allow her to say yes.  So instead she huffed, nimbly swinging herself from the desk and heading for the door.   _ God forbid a she-wolf give chase after an old bat like you _ , she thought ruefully.

For someone with so little love for games, Sesshoumaru was very good at this one.

“Ayame.”  She paused, glancing back over her shoulder.  For once, she found herself wishing that his familiarity rankled instead of giving her the good jitters.  His eyes focused on her face now, measuring and observant. “We  _ will _ find the culprit.  I have already begun my investigation.”

She nodded, and let herself out of the office.

There were some things Ayame liked about the Tokyo Coven’s Western House; the stately Meiji-era mansion was one of them.  There were some things she hated though… mainly, the constant feeling of being watched. It was inevitable that the moving shadows made her jumpy, that the sound of footsteps with no bodies to match made her twitch.

She laughed at the idea of poltergeists, because  _ ha _ , humans and their need to assign phenomena to anything less scary than reality.  Who wouldn’t lose their shit if they thought vampires were walking around? Jumping at shadows, doors randomly opened or closed, knocks on walls and floors and ceilings where nobody’s present, the  _ lowering of temperatures _ as ambient heat is sucked into their deathly-cold bodies…

Ayame nearly jumped out of her skin when an unfamiliar flicker caught her eye.

The sight of a fluffy orange sweater… just for a moment, it was there, and then it was gone again.  Then it appeared again, a little further down the hall, following the pat-pat of bare feet on the hardwood.

Despite herself, Ayame smiled a little in exasperation.  She called gently down the hall, “Baby vampire, your magic’s not holding.”

A little girl, still looking human, turned to look over her shoulder in awe.  “You can see Rin?”

A wolfish grin accompanied her teasing, “I can.  You keep flickering in and out, like a firefly. Good job on your disguise magic, though.”

“How do you know Rin is disguised?” she asked suspiciously.  Ayame grinned. Such a cute kid.

“I know vampire magic real well, baby doll.  I also know brown eyes don’t stick around long once you change.”

The child pouted, drumming her toes quietly against the floorboards.  “We’re not supposed to let outsiders see us.”

“I wouldn’t worry about that too much,” Ayame offered.  “I’m old friends with your Coven, and one of your sisters lives with my pack.”

Rin looked up at her, eyes wide with surprise and awe.  “Rin has a sister?”

_ Oh, that’s unfairly cute _ .  Ayame deigned to walk up to the child, crouching down within reaching distance.  The smile and sparkle in her eyes couldn’t be hidden as she whispered conspiratorially, “Yes, all who live in the Coven are family.  This one is part of your family too. She’s even more of a baby than you, so you’ll have to be a good big sister for her to look up to.”

“Rin is a big sister?”  Ayame nodded. “Is this sister smaller than Rin?”

“No, she’s about my height.  A very pretty girl,” she acknowledged, trying not to show the child how sour the compliment tasted.  Rin looked properly excited, so there was that.

“Does Rin know her daddy?  Or mommy?”

“Her sire?”  Ayame shook her head.  Explaining this to a child…   “No. That’s the problem you see; that’s why she’s staying with us wolves.  We don’t know who her sire is, and neither does she. If it had taken her any longer to wake up, she… wouldn’t have made it.”

Vampires were all pale; the blood in their bodies kept them functioning, but since they never had  _ excess _ blood their skin rarely bore color.  Still, Ayame couldn’t mistake how green and pinched with stress the child’s face became in an instant, her magic wavering and disappearing with an inaudible  _ pop _ as she lost her glamour.  White hair with just the tips left black and eyes the color of roasted wheat looked painfully beautiful on this child, an illustration of her death.

“Don’t worry though,” she whispered, daring to pat the child on the head.  “My pack will protect her. She may not have a sire to teach and protect her, but our alpha is generous.  He has taken that one in as one of his own.”

Ayame could feel the child’s trembling weaken, but the ghastly look on her face waned little.  Hands fisted in her sweater and eyes trained on the floor, Rin quietly asked, “Werewolf  _ oneechan _ , what… what is Rin’s new sister called?”

“Her name is Higurashi Kagome.  She writes it as  _ sunset _ from what Inuyasha tells me.”

Rin swallowed and nodded, and suddenly she vanished again.  All that was left was a whisper. “Rin would like to meet her sometime.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Monbi updated _Living_ , so here I am with another chapter for RD! <3 Partner over there sounded so excited when I mentioned my brief love affair with SessAya, so here it is, making another appearance for the first time in like... ten years? Damn.
> 
> What do you think of Rin? Is she adorable or what?! No srsly.


	9. How to Hunt

Kouga was feeding her eye candy by the bucketfuls as he tossed his shirt to a nearby ottoman.  Inuyasha sat thigh-to-thigh with her on the couch now as the werewolf settled down on the floor, comfortably draping his arms across her knees.  Damn, but he smelled amazing. Warm fur, fire, pine, and just a hint of gasoline. Inuyasha did his best to lecture verbally; he pointed with fine-tipped claws she’d never seen before, and said, “The trick is in how much you _give_ , instead of how much you take.  The biggest difference between a human, a corpse and a vampire is the strength of their soul.  On your scale of 1-100, dead folk have 0, humans range across the spectrum depending on how close to dead they are, and superhumans are the infinity beyond that.”

“That’s not a scale from 1-100 then; only one of them actually fits on the scale!” she managed, tearing her eyes away from bare, bronzed shoulders.  Kouga waved a hand lazily.

“It’s okay, Kagome.  Give muttface here a little credit for trying to explain reasons instead of just telling you to ‘Bite and eat.’  You understand the concept of a soul, I guess?”

She nodded uncertainty.  “That part that separates alive from dead… right?”

He nodded.  “That’s basically it.  Your average human is made to move by soul; things like imagination, will to live, even stubbornness can affect it.  Happiness, too. A dead body has already been abandoned by the soul. Folks that are brain dead are the same. The soul has left the building, even if the mechanics are still dragging on.

“Thing is, superhumans — not just vamps and were-creatures like us, but youkai, spirits, gods, humans with supernatural powers like purification and ESP — they all have souls that are _huge_ .  They’re harder to kill, some of them never die on their own… and they can confer these abilities on others if they know how.  A lot of ‘em, it involves biting,” he said, adding teasing emphasis with a snap of his jaws. “For human abilities, usually it’s just a matter of training.  For gods… what was it again? Well, whatever. Point is, _power_ is conferred.   _Soul_ , _life_ , however you want to put it; the thing that moves our bodies, makes us hard to kill.  If you take the necessary steps, you can turn pretty much anyone. Problem is, all vamps have to do is leech soul into people when they drink blood.  They have to, at least a little; when they drink, the blood brings with it life, so to preserve the life of the human, they share a portion of their soul to fill in the gaps.”

Kagome rubbed at the spot between her eyes.  “Okay. Sounds complicated.”

“Keh, it’ll be fine.”

She sat silently for a minute, trying to find a good example.  Like those oil-water things from the eighties where when you flipped them over they filtered to the opposite sides?  Or a level. A level was a good one; or a see-saw, where the same weight on either side kept it level… or scales. Kagome listed as many examples as she could think of, trying to cement the idea.

“So… I have a larger soul, and since I take some of the soul from people when I eat, I have to give back the same amount so I don’t hurt them… right?”

“Close.  Give back 90%, because then you spell them and the piece of soul you use kinda clings for a while.  The memories or whatever eventually stitch in nice and solid, and the soul bits just becomes part of the scenery.”  Inuyasha wrinkled his nose. “Enough of the theory shit though. _Eat_.  You’ll get it soon enough.”

“How do you figure?” she returned indignantly.

“Cause your old gramps was a priest and he trained you as a miko, so when your soul goes somewhere you’ll know it!” he argued, snarling.  Kagome snarled right back.

“Would you say the same thing to someone else who wasn’t trying this on Kouga-kun?”  She turned red, if for no other reason than _I finally said his first name, oh crap, ohcrapohcrapohcrap—_ !  “If it weren’t me trying?  If I were trying on _a human_ would you still be the same?”

That looked to be leading down ole Screaming Match Road, so she was thankful for Ginta’s swift, “Now, now, neesan, everyone’s first is with someone they can’t hurt!  Inuyasha, I’ve got some coffee in the kitchen; can I get you a cup?”

Kouga tapped her on the knee, looking up and behind to meet her eyes.  “Don’t sweat the details. That’s for later. For now, get something nutritious in you.  Alpha’s orders.”

It wasn’t fair, that twinkle of amusement that glimmered off the steel of command in his eyes.  Kagome found herself pouting, charmed, and crushing. What a place to be, freshly dead and with a new, hardcore crush on her hands.  A crush that knew her, liked her, and had sworn to protect her… that was practically a miracle. She recalled her unfortunate crush on Inuyasha in middle school, and the swift end it met when he introduced his girlfriend — her cousin, nonetheless! — Asadori Kikyou.  In high school, she’d been such a sucker for Miroku until his rather free affections made themselves apparent, and it was so hard to admit to this _day_ how sweet she’d been on Izumo… but alas, he’d been ignorant to her flirtations and found more fascination in books than in girls.

Her luck with men was terrible.  She always thought it wouldn’t get any better, but…

When Kouga lolled his head to the side casually, her fingers slipped down the bared column of his neck before she could stop herself.  Kagome didn’t know whether to convince herself the goosebumps she felt on his arms were real or not real, but the skin that twitched under her fingers was unmistakable.  His neck was sensitive. He was fully aware of her, and yet he lazed patiently between her knees. A predator. Her _alpha_.

All-too-aware of the weight and press of her fangs inside her mouth, Kagome leaned down.  Some things came naturally, like how she slipped one hand under his cheek, cradling his face, and the other slid to the cusp of his shoulder.  The vein that Inuyasha showed her with fingertips was thrice as prominent as she brushed her lips across it in a mockery of a kiss. The hot pulse there beat against her sensitive skin, warm and alive.  Her fangs were heavy, heavy, _aching_ …

She didn’t think about the blood, or the eating, or the fact that this _had_ to hurt or that she was biting the guy she had a crush on or _any of those things_ … Like savoring her mother’s homemade food, or a particularly fragrant pastry, she let the weight of her fangs sink slowly into the silken texture, the abstractly delectable taste slipping between her lips.  There was a tuning moment; all ambient sounds disappeared, all sights fuzzy shades of gray, brown, rust and orange. Her senses blurred and melted, but she nestled her fangs into the solid space welling about them, awareness creeping like ambient lights through her periphery.  Deep, deep purple, indigo, and then… pink. Far from warring, they caressed and moved together. _We’re too stubborn for that_ , echoed Inuyasha’s words, and it made sense in a very intangible sort of way.  Their auras were huge, _huge_ , and though she could see hers waning from indigo to gray, watching the deep, dark, purply-black aura crumble at the edges and feed it the missing color…

_Soul._

She fumbled.  There was the weight in her stomach; it made her feel fuzzily full, content, and _warm_ in a way that not even the fireplaces could accomplish.  She had enough, but she had to give _back_.  Soul for soul — it was a balance, a trade… not a theft.

The pink was a no-no, but it was what reached out first.  She reigned it back, trying to bury it beneath the shifting indigo.  In alarm, she started to lose focus; the purple was crumbling faster, turning grey… and it turned white when the pink touched it, a hiss of discomfort sounding at her ear.   _Nonononononono—_

Kagome grasped at the shifting azure with imaginary claws, hauling it forward.  At first, she almost laid it over the crumbled areas like a futon, but overdoing things wasn’t good either.  Feeling as if she were physically wrestling with her soul, she wrapped her consciousness tightly all around it, scrabbled and _pulled_ , and finally… finally, somehow, she managed to rip off a small chunk.  Using it like putty, she imagined smearing it into the damaged places.

Ninety percent, Kouga said.  Fill in ninety percent. Kagome realized in that moment that, though she’d observed his reactions to her, she’d completely forgotten to observe where his soul ended and hers began.  Still, she picked off pieces of herself and packed them on to Kouga’s spirit carefully, and somewhere in the midst of it, she realized her fangs didn’t have to be draining him in order for the exchange to happen.  Gums-deep, the feeling of flesh slipping from around her teeth was singular and unique; it tasted like the iron of blood, but it was also deeply rooted with those familiar flavors she’d scented on him, pine and fur and smokey musk.  She left off her spiritual masonry and chased the flavors with her mouth, tongue rasping over a surface that pebbled with an excitement that flavored him. It wasn’t fruity or sweet, but the taste lingered on her senses like temple incense.

“Good job.  I’m surprised you got it so easily.”

She wasn’t lucid enough to know which one of them said it, but she was grateful.  The more she came back to reality, the more Kagome realized she’d been seconds away from going back for seconds she didn’t need.  Her dignity was precarious enough as she stared down, looking at the length of neck and shoulder that now shone with her saliva.

“You’ll be able to hunt by yourself just fine after another try or two,” Kouga commented easily, but she noted that he was quick to stand and get his shirt back.  If vampires had the blood to spare, she was sure she’d be blushing long about now, but no, the heat wasn’t on her face… wait, yes, there was heat there. Blood. Still staining her lips and chin and settling in her mouth with that silken warmth that curled something sweet inside her.  “You’ll need to get a few spells under your belt first; werewolves aren’t all that great with memory charms, and that’s the one you need the most.”

Kagome could hear him, she _could_ , but there was no denying the distraction.  Her hands started to shake, and the warmth in her belly turned to lead, and the brush of air across the wet patches on her face…

Dignity be damned, she stood and left the room without a word, screaming inside all the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, Monbi came out with the next chapter of _Living_ , so here's the next chapter for RD! 8D
> 
> We have Kagome's less-than-exemplary list of past crushes, an explanation of souls and the supernatural, and mucho flustered awkwardness. ^7^/ It'll help make up for Monbi's heavy chapter. =v= (I'm happy because problems are on the horizon over there. Much to look forward to. XD )


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